Seniors Rock

Last night, I saw Neil Young (1945) and his longtime band, Crazy Horse perform at Madison Square Garden.  Patti Smith (1949) opened the show. I hadn't been to a big stadium show in 14 years. But it was A's anniversary gift to me this summer.

I just have to say that the seniors really rocked it. At 67, Neil sounded the same and moved the same as he does here in this clip from 1991. It was exciting to see. (Also, the stage setting was the same as it is here. Big Crazy Horse banner. Loved it.
I've seen Patti Smith here in New York three times. Twice for free. She's the most reliably generous performer I've ever seen. Down-to-earth Jersey girl. Gives the people exactly what they want.
 I've always had a secret wish to be a rock star, but for this life, I'll have to be content to be a super attentive and appreciative rock fan.

The Play of Tight Places

Sam Shepard and Patti Smith in Cowboy Mouth, 1971 (Photo by Gerard Malagna)

Okay, I'm really bummed I can't use the photos I took directly before and after the 2012 East Village production of Sam Shepard and Patti Smith's Cowboy Mouth I returned from a couple of hours ago.   It was an apartment room, the walls painted glossy black.  In the center a bed, ringed with books, a typewriter, drums a guitar.  A slovenly boho paradise.  The audience members were part of the space.  The wine that was offered the audience members before the play was integrated into the show.  

The play is all about boredom, agitation, claustrophobia, guilt, yearning, and rock and roll.   (In this way, it reminded me of life in my own New York apartment.)  Heroes--the patron saints of the play--who were mentioned included Patti's usual faves:  Villon, Dylan and Jagger.  There was a time in America, I suppose, when rock stars the poets who act like them took on the aspects of saints and saviors--at least that's what the play would have me believe.

The best part of tonight's performance was the context.  That the action was happening in a real apartment with windows that opened onto a real street and let in breezes and noise.   The audience members were interlopers.  

I don't knowwhy, thinking about it on this night of the Tony Awards, this play couldn't be similarly staged in any city or small town.  

By the way, to increase the agitation in here, my kids have taken to jump roping in the only place available for any kind of egress.  I swear this play is my life.

Looking forward to:  Seeing an old friend from Utah this week.  Tomorrow's guest blog post!

Inspiration:  Morning pages, even though I don't have the book yet.  Anything I should know until I get it?

The 2012 production was not in the room pictured here

Why I'm Not at the Mother of All Mother's Day Shows

No time for the epic "Why I Hate Mother's Day" post that has been in my head for weeks.

Still in the middle of grading final exams.  This comforts me in a small way as I know now I never would have had time to attend the Patti Smith (with her daughter) concert that was sold out before I found out about it. Check out this mother of all Mother's Day shows.

Here's a rocking muther--before she became one and not long after she emerged from her tight place--who makes me like Mother's Day a bit more:

Tightsless

Coming from Carnegie Hall on the downtown F train subway platform, this woman was perfectly posed.  The air called for tights, but she boldly strode out bare legged.

I need to emulate her stance, which was almost Egyptian--left leg forward.  Something about it reminds me of the iconic photo of Patti Smith on a subway platform below.  Unfortunately, I did not take this one:

Mama Patti Goes On WIthout Me

Patti Smith read from a new/old book tonight at "St. Mark's Books, and I had planned on going, even though this plan was pure fantasy. Tuesdays, my spouse works late and I needed to be home with the kids on the first school night of the new year. It made me feel very self-sacrificing but not in a positive way. I just felt deprived (and then guilty for feeling that way), and it made me realize again how difficult it is to get artistically fed as a parent. My one consolation is that I felt Patti, herself, would have understood. I remember reading that someone has asked her with disdain why she hadn't done anything in the '80s--it seemed like she had disappeared, they said. She replied that she had been raising children in Detroit; what more could she do than that? Motherhood: it can swallow you whole. Most of the time, that feels good and right. Sometimes, I just feel obliterated.

New Year's Day of 2002, I took my six-week-old baby out into the night to keep her from crying. She had colic and if I kept walking, if I kept her surroundings unfamiliar, she would sleep and not cry. I ended up at St. Mark's Church in the Bowery at their annual New Year's Day marathon reading--their benefit for the Poetry Project (of which Patti is a veteran). It was so crowded in the sanctuary where the live performances were that I went in the back where books and food was for sale. The back turned out to the "green room" of sorts, and since it was so late in the evening, all of the St. Mark's "celebs" were milling around: Philip Glass, Lee Renaldo, etc, and Patti Smith, flanked by a small entourage. I took my baby out of her wraps, and Patti noticed in the way that people notice newborns, and she smiled at me, well, either me or the baby--I couldn't decide, but I took it as confirmation and encouragement. I needed a lot of that. Still do.

Today I worked on a story for an hour, but I need to do much more tomorrow. Much more!

Wore: my tights from yesterday with thick acrylic leg warmers pulled over them. Temperatures in the 20s today and tomorrow. I really need to change up my legwear if I'm going to make it through the winter. Just sayin'.

By the way, the photo is from Wikipedia Commons and totally okay to use, copyright wise.

And what is Amazon doing linking up with my page?